Death and What Comes Next

Discworld #10.5

by Terry Pratchett

Death and What Comes Next is a Discworld short story by Terry Pratchett. It tells the story of a discussion between Death and a philosopher, in which the philosopher attempts to use the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics to argue death is not a certainty.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Humor, Philosophy, Comedy, Death

1 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Sir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983–2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.
Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.
With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. He later made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK, ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC, and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dying philosopher attempts to smugly outsmart Death with the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics before being coolly checkmated by the Reaper Man. I SEE YOU…

I just discovered this obscure Discworld short story and I’m so glad I stumbled across it as it’s great! Apparently Terry Pratchett originally wrote Death and What Comes Next for an online puzzle game called Timehunt (never heard of it!) back in 2002. As a lifelong fan of the author, Discworld and the Death books in particular, it’s a delightful reminder of everything I love about arguably Pratchett’s best character.

The story is filled with the kind of sharp and witty dialogue that won Pratchett the huge audience he continues to have. In addition to succinctly explaining a complex aspect of quantum mechanics in a clear and accessible way (while also working in an understanding of the famous Schrodinger’s Cat thought experiment), he gives Death an effortlessly clever response delivered in the calm, beguiling and convincing way only an entity as absolute and powerful as Death could possess. I especially loved Death’s withering assessment of humanity:

LET ME PUT FORWARD ANOTHER SUGGESTION: THAT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LUCKY SPECIES OF APE THAT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF CREATION VIA A LANGUAGE THAT EVOLVED IN ORDER TO TELL ONE ANOTHER WHERE THE RIPE FRUIT WAS? UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU HAVE ACHIEVED A GREAT DEAL.

Awesome – and what a brilliant ending too! Death and What Comes Next is a wonderfully entertaining Discworld episode featuring some first-class Death material any fan will get a kick out of - I definitely enjoyed this great short story a lot. If you’re interested, you can read it for free online here.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

*clears throat*

I hadn't known about Terry Pratchett having written short stories (and published them one way or another) like this one but I'm certainly happy my attention was drawn to them. This particular one is about one of my favourite Discworld characters, Death. He is so important, he speaks in capital letters.
Here, he wants to collect a philosopher and - as usual with that bunch - he's trying to wiggle out of it by trying to trick Death. However, the old cat-loving scythe-wielder is not that easily fooled and his come-back is hilarious.

This is Terry Pratchett at his best. As the German saying goes: in der Kürze liegt die Würze ("brevity is the soul of wit").



For anyone interested, the story can be read for free here: http://www.lspace.org/books/dawcn/daw...

[Deborah Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant reading under the circumstances, but as darkly funny as all of Pratchett's Death tales are.

Thank you for using the time you spent here to make the world a happier place, Sir Terry.

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Death met the Philosopher, the Philosopher said rather excitedly: ‘At this point you realise I ‘m both dead and not dead.’ ( re Schrodinger’s cat).

Witty and short. Another filed on my phone and now read. Never read any Terry Pratchett before. Which is a damn shame.

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

[First read: 26th June, 2015. 3 Stars.
Second read: 11th August, 2023. 4 Stars.]

Featured in the book A Blink of the Screen.

This Discworld short story concerns one of the Disc's best-loved characters, Death. Here he is, going about his "normal" everyday business when a philosopher tries to wile his way out of his end by being all philosophy and smart. Death sees straight through it, as you may expect. A charming short story with the usual wit and wisdom found elsewhere on Discworld

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

A philosopher tries to debate with Death about whether he’s actually dead or not. This is just really short. Still, a pretty fun read.

[Suhailah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Short Story can be read for free here.

Death banters with a philosopher

This one had me grinning the entire time. So witty. So entertaining. Death explores quantum theory, infinite universes, and choices in an enlightening manner. I would love to have a sit down with Death to discuss these topics! Quantum theory has always been a topic that has hooked me!

This quote sent me over the edge laughing! 🤣

“LET ME PUT FORWARD ANOTHER SUGGESTION: THAT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A LUCKY SPECIES OF APE THAT IS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF CREATION VIA A LANGUAGE THAT EVOLVED IN ORDER TO TELL ONE ANOTHER WHERE THE RIPE FRUIT WAS?”

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There was a sigh from Death. Oh dear, one of those, he thought. This is going to be about
quantum again. He hated dealing with philosophers. They always tried to wriggle out of it."

Death goes out on a "collection" and the collectee happens to be a philosopher who tries to reason his way out of the appointment.

As any fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld will know, Death is one of his most compelling characters and he demonstrates his unique ability at ultimate one-ups-manship in this very short work.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Смърт пусна въздишка. Пространството, помисли си той. Там беше зорът. В светове с вечно заоблачено небе никога не беше така. Но след като човеците видеха цялото това пространство, мозъците им се разширяваха в опит да го изпълнят...“

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, brilliant essence of Pratchett's wit and wisdom. The character of Death (one of my favourites in all literature) at his best.

PS You can find it on YouTube or here.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death shoots down a philosopher's argument that an infinite number of universes come into being through choice.

Quick fun read, but not necessary for understanding the Death Arc of Discworld.

[Pia Jensen Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, thought-provoking tiny novella. It had some small ideas about physics that I hadn't brought that far myself.

I read it here (found it via StumbleUpon): http://www.lspace.org/books/dawcn/daw...

[Fedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when a philosopher (or a physicist) dies?
Well, they die, but maybe they also get to meet DEATH for a second there, as the last grains of sand in their hourglass are falling.

And people generally don't get along nicely with changes. Well, being dead is a BIG change. So what do they do? They try to chat with DEATH to make HIM admit that in some other quantum realm of reality - they are still alive. That seems to happen often, because apparently DEATH knows how to answer such stupid questions for us,

the lucky species of ape that are trying to understand the complexities of creation via language that evolved in order to tell one another where the ripe fruit was...

This is a short 5 pages read for Discworld fans. Thank you my secret santa for gifting me this (among others) - I really wanted to read it!!

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEATH is one of my favourite Discworld characters. He has an unpleasant task of picking up a philosopher who is trying really hard to persuade him that he is not 'such a certainty'.
Some days it's better not to go to work, but everyone knows whose is the last word.

[YouKneeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn’t really a book. It’s a short story. Or, more like a short couple of pages. It’s a cute little debate between a dying philosopher and Death over the concept of infinite universes.

It can be found for free here: http://www.lspace.org/books/dawcn/daw...

[Priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philosophies as much as you like……..death will get you in the end.
A one-page interaction between Death and a Philosopher.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten about this very short bit of Discworld fiction.
The story was a fun read. Death Said: "I see you."

[Nusrat Farzana · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I love Death" is certainly not a sentence I thought I would catch myself thinking, but in this Terry Pratchett's version, I love the silly old bugger. Hats off, trumpets up, you have stolen the quantam theory. Everybody can just get home now. 🤣

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story can be read for free online here: https://www.lspace.org/books/dawcn/da...

It is also included in the A Blink of the Screen anthology

[Prithviraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death, the ultimate certainty.

Goddamn.

[Erika Pensaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh yes... Short stories in L-space that I didn't know about.

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Сборник с кратки творби на уникалния Тери Пратчет! Съдържание, което е идеално както за дългогодишните почитатели на един от най-големите майстори на фантастичното перо, така за хора, които винаги са искали да се запознаят с творчеството му, но изправени пред десетките романи от Света на Диска, не са знаели от къде да започнат. Това е „Примигване на екрана”! Прекрасна колекция от разкази, обхващащи различни периоди от творчеството на Пратчет – както ранните години, така и по-уверените, в които маестрото вече е напипал разпознаваемия си стил и продължава да се гъбарка, както с всичко на света, за което можете да се сетите, така и със... самия себе си. Изданието идва с логото на „Сиела”, в първокласен превод от Светлана Комогорова-Комата. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Heds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death and What Comes Next
3.5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️
یک داستان کوتاه که شامل بر مکالمه‌ای بین مرگ و یک فیلسوفه که وقت مرگش سر رسیده ولی با استفاده از کوانتوم می‌خواد از زیرش در بره.
جالب بود ولی گیج‌کننده.
برای فهمیدنش بهتره مفاهیم اولیه‌ی کوانتوم و موضوعاتی مثل گربه‌ی شرودینگر، جهان‌های موازی، حالت‌های ابرموقعیتی ذرات و... رو حتی در حد آشنایی اولیه بدونید.
من چون خیلی از کوانتوم نمی‌دونستم برام یکمی سخت بود و از اون کتاب‌هایی بود که باعث می‌شد فکر کنم تا سر دربیارم و سوال بپرسم و با دوستم و چت جی پی تی بحث کنم و خلاصه مغزم رو قلقلک داد.
وقتی هم قضیه‌ی گربه‌ی شرودینگر رو فهمیدم به نظرم پایانش خیلی هوشمندانه بود:)))
موضوع جالبی رو انتخاب کرده بود، تلاش آدم‌ها برای فرار از مرگ با دعا، علم و کلا هرچی دستشون میاد ولی قطعیت مرگ علی رغم هر تئوری که بخوان ازش استفاده کنن.

[K.A. Ashcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story by Terry Pratchett involving Death and a philosopher. You know the kind that tries to argue you into their way by referring to metaphysics, mixing in the quantum state of being. The one you want to drown if he wasn't dead already or if you as the philosopher he is not dead and should continue existing. Death and What Comes Next is kudos for those bargain stories where humans deal with Death or the Devil to get what they want and in this case to keep on living.

You can find the story on LSpace. It is a quick read and funny as well. I kind of feel for Death. To hear the same lines and attempts again and again and to see the other one thinking how novel they are being. It was the same I had with my work when people came up with the same jokes, and I wish I could have argued back as Death did. Not that my job was anything exciting, but I am sure you know what I mean and have had several similar experiences.

Thank you for reading!

[Milena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zanimljivo za brainstorm-ovanje ;) Kraj teksta je maestralan :)))

[Srt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun very short story involving one of my favourite characters, Death.

[Edwin Piston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pequeño relato, pero como siempre la MUERTE hace de cualquier dialogo algo sumamente entretenido.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a sigh from Death. Space, he thought. That was the trouble. It was never like this on worlds with everlastingly cloudy skies. But once humans saw all that space, their brains expanded to try and fill it up.

A cute, short little exercise in philosophical musings between Discworld's Death and a dying philosopher. Read it here: http://www.lspace.org/books/dawcn/daw...

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a book at all, just a short little story of Death and a philosopher. Even when you know the end is coming, however, it's still quite touching - and even more so, when you read it knowing that Death has come for the philosopher, and he found a bit of meaning in that regardless.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tiny little (5 pages maybe) Death short story about the conversation had when a philosopher dies....covering theories from Schrödinger’s Cat to the multiverse... but of course no matter what your religion or philosophy only two things are certain in this life and one of those is Death 💀.